This will be a short report because my daughter Judy, and I are in the mountains running our northern trapline, and yes we have plenty of snow & ice. As I write this report it is the opener of deer season in PA, and this will be one of the few I’ve ever missed. We are having more fun sharing a good trapline together. I hope everybody is having a good trapping season and sharing your experiences with somebody new to the sport.

Our members have been asked to assist in a raccoon study in our state. We are looking for a few samples from each county. Please contact your district director for more information. Your director may also know about requests for other samples. I heard of a few studies being done with canines.

The next meeting of state officers & directors will be on January 22, 2011. If you have any suggestions to be brought before the board, please let me know. Good luck to all the trappers participating in our new fisher & bobcat seasons!

— Brian Mohn

ELECTION CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

The Pennsylvania Trappers Association will hold an election during the State Rendezvous from June 16th through June 19st to fill the offices of President, Vice President – East, Vice President – West, Secretary, Treasurer, Editor, Public Relations Direction, NTA Director and FTA Director. Anyone interested in having their name on the ballot for this election should forward their resume to Charlie Sykes via e-mail at trapper_66@windstream.net or via US Mail at: 1265 Airport Road, Stoneboro, PA 16153-1807. Resumes must be received no later than March 1st, 2011, in order for your name to be published on the ballot. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Charlie via email or phone. Ph: (724) 866-4286.

DISTRICT 1 REPORT

Congratulations to Jason Taylor on the new addition to his family. Jenson McKay Taylor was born on November 16, 2010 at 12:47 PM. Jenson weighs 8 lbs. and 12 oz. and is 20 in. long. (About the size of a good Steelhead.)

There is a biologist from Grove City College who will be conducting a study on coyotes. He is requesting frozen coyote livers, for his testing process. For more information on where the coyote livers go, please contact Jim Stoops at (724) 992-1143.

Venango County will be hosting District One’s Spring Meeting. It will be held at the Venango County Coon and Fox Club on April 9th, 2011 at 9:00 AM. The address is PO Box 546, 2 Mile Run Road, Franklin, PA 16323.

Don’t forget to get your Spring Gun Raffle Sponsorships.

I hope you all have a safe and successful trapping season this year. Remember to take a kid along with you.

God Bless.

— Charlie Sykes

DISTRICT 3 REPORT

Hello all,

Hope the season has been treating you well so far, hard to believe November went by so quickly. It’s the busy time of year, so there’s not much new to report, just a reminder for our fur sale, January 30, at the Washington County Fairgrounds. Same as previous years, sale starts at 9:00 am, 4% commission. We’ll have food available. Hope to see you there.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

— Dave Eckels

DISTRICT 5 REPORT

I write this column as I prepare to head to camp for a few days of deer hunting. Hunting and other things in my life seem to be keeping me too busy. My trapping has been very limited so far and I hope you are “taking up the slack.

I spoke with our district director, Harry Wade, last evening and he asked me to remind everyone about our next meeting and encourage everyone to attend. Please come out and show your support for district 5 and for the association in general. We will be electing an assistant director and county leaders at the meeting. Harry is passionate about the association and would like your help and input to make it better and stronger. Please feel free to call Harry with any input you have @ 814 842-9546.

The next meeting will be held at Gander Mountain in Windber, PA on January 9, 2011 at 2:00 PM. This meeting will focus on the upcoming fur auction that will be held on February 13th in the 4-H building at the Bedford Fair Grounds and the outdoor show at the Jaffa Mosque that will be on February 25, 26, & 27th.

An election of officers was held at the fall meeting and following is the results: Director – Harry Wade, Assistant director – Mark Vatavuk, Treasurer – Pat Wess, and Secretary – Deborah Sedlemeyer.

Please feel free to contact Pat Wess @ (814) 262-9455 or me with any information you would like to see in this report or any questions you might have. I can be reached at (814) 686-0497 or e-mail me at bdstern@atlanticbb.net Thanks for reading.

— Brian Stern

DISTRICT 11 REPORT

I’ll keep this short but I want to remind you of a couple things coming up. The District 11 fur sale will be January 8, 2011 at the Berks County 4H Center in Bernville, PA. You must be a PTA member to sell fur at this sale. Doors open at 7:00 a.m. and the sale starts at 9:00 a.m. There is a $5 registration/accounting fee and 4% commission on all fur sold. All licensed fur buyers are welcome. The kitchen will be open at 7:00 a.m. and throughout the day. We are always in need of help at this event, especially later on in the day.

On January 9th we will hold another Rendezvous planning meeting. It will be held at the Conewago Rod & Gun Club at 2:00 p.m. If you need directions call Ralph or me.

Our next business meeting will be Thursday evening, February 17th at 7:00 p.m. at the Conewago Township building. We will be going over the results of the fur sale and planning events for 2011.

One last thing, I want to extend best wishes to you and yours for a Happy Holiday Season. Take time to thank God for all His blessings to us.